How Ethnic Are U.S. Ethnic Media: The Case of Latina Magazines

Abstract

In this article, I review 3 waves of ethnic media scholarship, and I describe how the dominant paradigm shifted from assimilation concerns to pluralism. I used qualitative and quantitative content analysis to examine news and features in 5 new nationwide women's magazines targeted to U.S. Hispanics. Thirty-eight percent of the manifest content mentioned Latinos and 27% mentioned specific Latin American cultures. These new English-language and bilingual Latina magazines distributed in the United States had simultaneous assimilative and pluralistic functions. One function was the ability to create a pan-Hispanic identity for members of various LatinAmerican cultures. The magazine content does not fit within the confines of current language-based ethnic media models. I propose a revised model of ethnic media that reflects dual functions of assimilative and pluralistic expression and takes into account the possibility of more symbolic ethnic media functions.

Recontextualizing ideologies about social difference in New York Spanish-language newspaper advertising

“…Advertising with this goal illustrates how an imagined consumer shifts depending on the market. Forms of what are often called ''ethnic media'' especially illustrate market segmentation and the imagined homogeneity of groups (e.g., Deuze, 2006;Jeffres, 2000;Johnson, 2000;Riggins, 1992). Like many forms of advertising, such strategies operate under the presupposition of difference.…”

Parents' Perceptions of Preschool Television

“…The trend over time has been that African American and Hispanic children spend more time using media than their Caucasian counterparts (Blosser, 1988;Rideout & Hamel, 2006;Subervi-Vélez & Colsant, 1993). Previous academic research that has paid attention to language and media use among immigrants concludes that second and third generations 470 KRISTIN C. MORAN reduce media use in the native language and turn to mainstream US media (Johnson, 2000). Elias and Lemish (2008) reveal that most of the research conducted related to immigrant media use has focused on adults and there has been "nearly a total absence of attention to the role of the parents in shaping their children's media preferences" (p. 22).…”

“…Elias and Lemish (2008) reveal that most of the research conducted related to immigrant media use has focused on adults and there has been "nearly a total absence of attention to the role of the parents in shaping their children's media preferences" (p. 22). It appears, however, that for Latinos, who have a variety of Spanish-language media and now Latinothemed programs from which to choose, the relationship between media use and language is more complex than for immigrants who have little access to media in their native tongue (Dávila, 2002;Johnson, 2000;Straubhaar, 2007).…”

The Impact of Life-Stage on Asian American Females' Ethnic Media Use, Ethnic Identification, and Attitudes Toward Ads

“…A large number of ethnic minority consumers use ethnic media (Johnson, 2000;La Ferle & Lee, 2005;Lee, 2004;Zhou & Cai, 2002). Ethnic media is defined as media targeted toward a particular ethnic or racial group (Johnson, 2000).…”

“…Ethnic media is defined as media targeted toward a particular ethnic or racial group (Johnson, 2000). Ethnic minority consumers use ethnic media to (a) maintain cultural ties and promote ethnic pride (Johnson, 2000;Zhou & Cai, 2002), and (b) connect with the ''mainstream'' culture by reading, viewing, and=or listening in the native language for better understanding and comprehension (Zhou & Cai, 2002).…”